Page 80 of Keeping Laryn
Tears dripped down her cheeks as Laryn fell into an uneasy sleep. She dreamed about monsters with huge gaping mouths full of teeth coming for her, and Tate stepping between her and a monster, smiling as he turned to her and said, “I’ve got this.”
That’s what she was counting on.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
“It’s been a fuckingweek!” Casper seethed, as he paced back and forth in a conference room aboard the destroyer.
The Navy SEALs who’d been extracted, including Mustang and Pid, were all going to be fine. They were flown to Germany, to the military hospital there, and then flew home shortly after. Casper learned that Mustang and his team were stationed in Hawaii, while the other team they’d extracted was from California.
He was glad for them, but frustrated beyond belief at the situation with Laryn. The colonel was also concerned, and he’d brought her abduction to the highest levels of the Navy and Army. But, as with most things in the government, decisions about next steps were slow in coming.
There’d even been an attempt at diplomatic talks, trying to get Laryn released peacefully, but the members of the Turkish government communicating with their own wouldn’t even admit she was in the country. Could it be possible that Osman was acting independently? And his superiors didn’t even know what he’d done?
In the end, it didn’t matter who knew what—all avenues had been met with stonewalls. And Casper was done.
“Let my team and I go in,” Casper pleaded with the captain in charge of the ship.
The room was full of more high-ranking officers than Casper had seen in one place in a long time, but he wasn’t intimidated. Not in the least. He was more concerned about Laryn.
Pyro put a hand on his arm, and Casper took a deep breath. If he was going to help Laryn, he needed to get control of his emotions.
“Look, I understand Laryn Hardy isn’t a member of the US military. But she was in the past. And she currently has knowledge about every top-secret modification the US has made to the helicopters we use on missions. That’s why this Osman character was so desperate to get his hands on her in the first place. She’s not some random mechanic. She’s just as valuable to the Night Stalker missions as the pilots. Without her leading her team of mechanics and technicians, those helicopters might as well be ferrying tourists up and down the coast of Hawaii, checking out waterfalls.”
The captain leaned back in his chair and looked deep in thought. Personally, Casper thought the admiral simply looked bored. Many people thought since the admiral outranked the captain, that he was in charge when he was onboard, but they’d be wrong. The admiral was in charge of the fleet of ships in the area, but the captain commanded the ship itself. So the fact that the admiral didn’t look inclined to raise a finger to help Laryn didn’t concern Casper overly much. It was the captain he had to convince.
“We know where she is,” Pyro cut in.
“Right, because John Keegan has gotten involved,” the captain said dryly.
“Yes. He’s been watching the hangar where they’ve stored theMH-60s they’ve bought. There’s been a lot of activity there, trucks coming and going, but also personnel,” Chaos said.
“Which doesn’t mean she’s there,” the captain countered.
“True. But Altan Osman has also been there twenty-four seven. He hasn’t left once, which is highly unusual,” Buck pointed out.
“How the hell does Keegan know the whereabouts of a single person in the middle of a huge city? One in Turkey, at that?” the admiral asked.
“How does Tex know half the things he knows?” Obi-Wan countered. “He just does. And if he says that’s where Laryn is being held, that’s where she’s being held.”
“I’m not encouraging anything at this point, but let’s say sheisthere. How do you propose to find her and get her out without blowing up the entire building, killing possibly hundreds of innocent civilians in the process?” the admiral asked. “Because I’m telling you right now, the president isn’t going to want to do anything that would ramp up tensions in that part of the world…any higher than they already are.”
This was Casper’s chance. He leaned over the table and looked the captain in the eye. Not the admiral, but the man who had the power to approve any mission leaving from his ship.
“We take one chopper. Buck and Obi-Wan fly it in—at night, of course. The four of us—Pyro, Edge, Chaos, and myself—will be dropped off on the outskirts of the city, in the hills. From there, we’ll then make our way to the hangar. From intel given to us by Tex, we know the east side of the building backs up to a neighborhood that’s seen better days. That’s our in. We enter, find Laryn, get to the roof, and Buck and Obi-Wan will drop in and pick us up,” he finished.
There was, of course, a lot that could go wrong with the plan. But he had no doubt he and his team would figure things out on the fly if they had to. The main issue would be getting into thehangar without alerting anyone. Once inside, they’d do what they had to in order to liberate Laryn.
“You sound as if you have everything figured out,” the admiral said, sounding skeptical.
Casper didn’t respond, having no idea what kind of answer would appease his superior officer.
“What about the SEALs onboard this ship? They’ve got more experience than the four of you with this kind of extraction,” the captain mused.
Casper’s hopes soared. The man was listening to him. Not dismissing the plan out of hand. “True, but Laryn knows us. And we’ve had training, Sir. Maybe not as much as a SEAL or Delta, but enough to be able to succeed. Besides…this is personal.”
“Personal?” the captain said, raising a brow.
This was the tricky part. If either officer knew the extent of his relationship with Laryn, they’d reject any plan he came up with that included his participation. “Yes, Sir. Laryn has been working with our team for years. Three, to be exact. She’s the reason we’ve been so successful in our missions. It’s been her attention to detail and work ethic that’s kept the birds in such good working order.”
